The Paradox Of Inequality In Ghana

According to the Ghanaian government, the withdrawal of allowances from training and nursing college students’ has led to increase in take up. That the issue is about access and numbers and that the policy has been successful because more numbers are admitted to nursing and training colleges. On the ground the reality is different.

There is no doubt that some children of the underprivileged have had access to these educational institutions. This is in spite of high patronage and increasingly more connected people using their positions to gain access to these institutions for their wards.Observing students’ admittance into nursing and training colleges from poorer backgrounds, it is important to point out that unless something is done very soon it will only be the privileged that will have access to these schools.

The withdrawal of allowances for nursing and training colleges has led to a very big vacuum. It is creating a lot of tension and indebtedness for families. Parents from poorer background are taking high interest loans to cater for their wards.

Fees of training and nursing colleges range from 1,700 to over 3,500 Ghanaian Cedis. Take the case of a typical village in the Frafra area, in the Upper East Region of Ghana. For the peasants there are hardly any cows to sell to pay for the fees of their children. An average price of a cow is about 700 cedis.

It means parents need at least three cows to sell to pay for the fees of their children. That excludes money for transport, books and other costs that might arise. The average cows in households are about two. In these situations, children from poorer backgrounds are not able to take up their places. The places are given to those who can afford.

If we agree that education is lever out of poverty, or that we need teachers to teach our children or nurses to look after us, we can see the harm we are doing to this country. It means capable people do not have the means to continue with their education.

Despite the economic problems that the government faces, one would have thought that at least the government should have devised a system to cater for the needs of vulnerable people. The government should have instituted a loan system for students. This would have ensured that the underprivileged get access to these institutions.

The paradox of the situation is that, we the so-called middle classes, we those that our brethren and kindred see as better off, are bearing the brunt of the situation. Daily we are inundated with request to pay school fees. For the politicians and those who are in positions of power this may not be a problem. However for those of us, who care a bit and are at the margins of society it is creating a lot of problems for us.

My appeal to the government is to institute a loan scheme for students of nursing and training colleges. It will contribute to the reductions of corruption and indebtedness in the society. It will also ensure that Members of Parliament are not overwhelmed with request for money to pay fees and they are forced to permanently not pick their phone calls. It will also ensure that we those on the margins have a breathing space and not have to meet needs that we cannot afford.